


Denial

by undermyumbreon



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, ItsStillBeautiful, Post Season 3, Post TWOTL, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 16:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7809757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undermyumbreon/pseuds/undermyumbreon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Crawford tells Molly Foster/Graham some heartbreaking news about her spouse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Denial

    “So… that’s it.”  
    “That’s it.”  
    Molly sighed heavily and dabbed her eyes with a tissue, “I can’t believe it. I just can’t…”  
    “I’m sorry we couldn’t find his body.”  
    Molly shook her head slowly and broke her gaze with Jack Crawford. She heard footsteps and stole a look to her right, seeing her son, Walter, approaching them. Molly and Jack had been sitting at the dining table as he shared the news that Will Graham was presumed dead. After thorough investigation, the FBI found the Great Red Dragon murderer’s, Francis Dolarhyde’s, deceased bloody corpse on a cliff side. There was evidence that Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter had fought the killer and vanished from the site. They assumed Will and Hannibal had fallen off the cliff hundreds of feet into the unforgiving waves of the Atlantic Ocean when strips of clothing were found on the rocks at the bottom of the drop. There was no other evidence pointing to the pair escaping into the nearby forest or taking to the roads.  
    Walter touched his mother’s arm, “What’s wrong, Mom?”  
    Molly looked at him, her face full of sadness and sympathy, “Your father… Will isn’t with us anymore sweetie…”  
    “I know that. He’s been missing for a while.”  
    “No, honey…” she put her tissue on the table and took Walter’s hands in hers, “The FBI thinks your father isn’t alive anymore. They think he fell into the ocean.”  
    “Why?”  
    “They found some of his clothes in the water.”  
    There was a pause in the conversation. Molly could see Walter was trying to process this horrifying news. Suddenly, he blurted out, “He could be somewhere else with that bad guy Hannibal!” Walter pulled his hands away from his mother, gesturing wildly, “Hannibal could have captured him and threw his clothes into the water to fool the FBI!”  
    “Walter-“ Molly looked at him with surprise, “They didn’t find anything that would suggest that’s what happened -“  
    “Mom! Will wouldn’t jump! Not when he has us- that’s not who he is.”  
    Molly sighed painfully, looking up at the ceiling to stop herself from crying, “Walter sweetie, they didn’t say he jumped-“  
    “Mom you can’t believe what they say! They don’t know what he’s like.”  
    Jack cleared his throat loudly, “Walter, I’ve known your father for several years. There is a chance something went wrong between Will and Hannibal and they went over that clifftop.”  
    Walter shook his head, still denying the possibility, “No! You’re wrong!” he abruptly stormed out of the room.  
    Molly hiccupped and covered her face with her hands, “Where did he even get the idea that Will would have jumped into the ocean!?” her voice broke horribly at the thought.  
    “Mrs. Graham,” Jack stood up and walked over to her. She removed her hands, fresh tears falling from her face, “I know what it’s like to lose the one you love. I was able to give my wife a proper goodbye before she passed though. I hope one day you can too.”  
    Molly nodded somberly. Jack laid his hand on top of hers. She took it with both of her hands, giving a gentle squeeze, “I think I’m having as much trouble accepting this as much as Walter is,” She removed a hand to wipe away a tear with her finger, “I keep thinking there’s hope. I keep thinking there’s still a chance he’s out there.”  
     “I felt the same way. I kept expecting to come home and see my wife waiting for me. Every time I went into our bedroom though…” he looked down at the floor, “I was reminded of the harsh truth. It took me a while to get over my denial.”  
    “I’m sorry Mr. Crawford…” Molly sighed again, “I’m sorry you had to go through that ordeal.”  
    Jack exhaled, pulling his hand carefully out of her grip, “I have to take off and get back to my office. We’re still trying to square away everything with this case, but I felt that it would be appropriate to tell you this information before the media got a hold of it.”  
    “I understand… thank you for taking the time,” Molly stood up and walked to the door with Jack. She opened it and he passed her and out the doorway. He started to leave, but paused and turned to her.  
    “One more thing Mrs. Graham.”  
    “Yes?” she said, meekly.  
    “Your son will accept what’s happened one day. It takes a while, but he will.”  
    Molly nodded slowly, wordlessly, and watched Jack tip his head at her and turn back to walk down the porch steps to his car.


End file.
